And more...IFFB review of Ivan & Ivana

Times were tough for
Ivan and Ivana in Kosovo in 2000 in the midst of the civil war, as the opening
of Jeff Silva's low key but moving documentary
shows: the place is a wasteland of ruins and burnt out vehicles and snow. Six
years later in San Diego
they seem to be on Easy Street with a bungalow and two sports cars. Plus $1.3
million in debt - a problem that doesn't become any more manageable two years
later when the economy tanks. Personable, smart and attractive, the Serbian
couple got sucked into the culture of debt and consumption, and they're story
looks like it might turn into an updated, real life version of Werner Herzog's
Stroszek. But life goes on, together and separately, and Silva is on hand
recording it all, an off screen voice that is genial, inquisitive and
supportive. A film not so much about war and peace and the economy as it is
about time and what it wastes and what it leaves behind.